Cottage 2018 & Tribute to Great Granny Kohls

In 2017, we lost our Great Granny Mary Jane Kohls who was 97 1/2 years old ("98 with the last two birthdays coming soon to bring her to 3 digits"). To honor the matriarch that brought our families together every summer at the cottage and bury her remains with Grandpa, the family held a special family reunion with the Kadow, Kleeves, and Kohls clans coming together on Candadian Lakes for a week. We rented two cottages with the Kleeves coming to our side by side cottages to celebrate old traditions as well as create new ones. Everyone had blast reconnecting and enjoying this great family tradition....

The Pergandes drove from Minnesota and picked up cousin Ceci in WI to allow her to be with Nana and cousins for the week. We decided to break up the drive and took the 2.5 hour Lake Express across Lake Michigan. We stopped for pizza at the Classic Slice before our adventure.




Old traditions continued while a couple of new ones were created, including...

Card playing and Euchre tournaments



Kayaking (instead of Canoeing)



Fishing



Family game night



Late night bonfires (with a new massive tree that took 3 nights to burn)



Daily running, walkout and workout crews



Amazing "Pure Michigan" sunsets



And a new tradition created with daily badminton challenges



But the main reason we were all here was to celebrate Granny. We had a nice memorial service at the cemetary and then that night toasted granny with a Budweiser and some "sparkling" fireworks. Love you Great Granny Kohls!